There are more than 15 million people in the US with food allergies, and catering to this crowd could equal extra revenue for your restaurant. If your menu utilizes one of the eight common allergy ingredients (peanuts, tree nuts, fish, crustacean, eggs, milk, wheat, and soy), it’s time to learn how to protect your guests with food allergies, as well as your business.
We recommend starting by designating a front of the house person on your staff to become the “expert” in food allergen concerns. That person should be the only one that takes orders from food allergen guests. That designated person will serve as the liaison between the customer and the back of house to ensure the ticket‘s dietary restrictions are properly addressed.
It’s then up to the back of house team to ensure that the appropriate tools and foods are segregated from allergen contaminated food stations and utensils – even the tongs and turners need to be kept separate to prevent spreading allergens . Remembering to do all of this is made easy with the Allergen Saf-T-Zone System from San Jamar. It’s a designated kit that comes with its own set of tongs and turners, as well as a 10” chef’s knife and 12 x18” cutting board, all in purple of course. The purple helps remind everyone that, that particular meal has some sort of allergen restriction that needs to stay out of contact with other foods.
It’s simple awareness that helps keep your guests and business safe. Where it starts with being alert, organized, and thorough, it ends with ensuring food safety is top of mind and contamination is never an issue.